Sunsets and Car Crashes

Will wandered around the hallway, trying to find Cal. He was supposed to meet the Hufflepuff fifteen minutes ago to talk and hang out, but Will was not usually the most punctual person, and he found himself (unsurprisingly) running late. He really hoped that Cal would still be there; after all, he should know by now that Will did not really care to be on time unless the situation was grave.

It hadn't even crossed Cal's mind to arrive at the time that he and Will had decided on. Making a meeting with Will was like arranging to wait in a queue for at least ten or twelve minutes before seeing the person you came for. So, when it had gotten to be a good while after the time they'd planned, Cal found himself standing in the hall, keeping to one spot. It was easier to be found, he'd been told by some of the Muggle scouts back home, if one stood quite still and waited for the other person to discover you. It took only a minute to spot Will, but Cal stayed quiet. Watching him search, as well as watching everyone else milling around with their friends or rivals, was one of Cal's favorite pastimes and not worth spoiling before he had to.

Will arrived in the hallway that he and Cal had determined was the spot closest to the halfway point between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff common rooms. He worked to find Cal, scanning through the crowds--since classes had just let out, the hallway was crammed with people. Although Cal was short, Will had little trouble finding him. He seemed to be the only person in the hallway not bustling about, and his little bubble of calm in the crazy hallway drew Will's attention immediately. Cal seemed preoccupied, seemingly staring off into space, which meant he was probably people-watching. Will couldn't resist the opportunity to try and sneak up on him.

He walked up slowly behind Cal, trying to keep as quiet as possible, although that was very difficult for him. He slowly eased up, then jabbed his pointer finger into Cal's back. "Eya Cal!" he announced loudly.

It took only a couple of moments to become engrossed in the way the people moved here and there, and after a moment, Cal noticed that he'd somehow lost track of Will. He didn't worry himself with it, since he'd turn up eventually. He could just hear bits and pieces of the conversation of a small group of Ravenclaw girls passing by and he was just on the verge of stepping a litttle closer when he felt the finger jabbed into his back.

If he hadn't been planning on meeting up with Will, Cal would've jumped ten feet. As it was, he squirmed away from the poke and laughed a little at his friend's conspicuous arrival. "Good to see you too, Will," he said, more than a little amused. "Took you long enough, didn't it?"

Cal did not react as much as Will would have liked, but he did make the boy squirm, which pleased him. That meant he definitely caught him by surprise. Cal was wearing that wry grin, the one saying, "I expected you all along, because I know you too well because I CAN SEE INTO YOUR SOUL." Will ignored it. "I'd say I'm sorry for being late, but we both know I'd be lying. I got caught in the hallway by an old ex chasing me with one of those spiny, inky plant things, so I ended up having to blend into the crowd and find a secret passage to get here." Cal would probably notice that he came from the exact same direction that he always did, so it was highly unlikely that he took one of the secret passageways. However, Will expected Cal to catch on by now. He wouldn't be Cal if he didn't.

"Spiny, inky plant things? I'd try to work out what you're talking about but I don't think they cover things with ink and spines until NEWTs." Cal suppressed his natural instinct to call Will out on his tall tale, but there was no use. It was rather fun trying to keep track of them all. He would surely be a happy boy if Will ever slipped up and used the same excuse twice, because he remembered all of them. "Add another pro under the 'no dating' column: never chased with pointy, messy Herbology projects."

Will nodded sagely. "Young grasshopper, if you learn anything from my dating experiences, learn this: dating crazy herbology nuts is not a good thing. Neither is dating potions nuts. I'll never forget the one Slytherin I kissed a few times in first year who took it upon himself to attempt to poison my pumpkin juice for another three months after I left him. If he were as sneaky as a Slytherin SHOULD be, instead of making a show of it every single time, I would probably be long dead. They kicked him out third year, if I remember correctly." Will smiled fondly. He may have been a nut, but he knew exactly what to do with his tongue, even back in first grade.

"Hey, I'm a crazy herbology nut! Well, not so much crazy, but the point still stands. I think you just have a tendency to run around with psychopaths. Probably because you are one." Cal easily kept his cool on the outside, but on the inside he was cringing. He didn't understand Will's ability to let people in and out of his life (and his mouth, blech) so easily. "I don't think I'm going to be heeding your advice any time soon."

"You are NOT a herbology nut. You're a nut, and you like herbology, but you are not a herbology nut." There was definitely a distinction. "Also, I must remind you that I spend a great deal of time running around with you, let me remind you, so watch it before you go calling all my friends psychopaths." Will grinned. He knew he had made Cal uncomfortable. He always avoided talking about anything more intimate than kissing around Cal, because although he had some interesting stories, he did not want to share them with young, impressionable Cal.

"I'm never going to understand the way you think," Cal muttered, more for his own benefit than for Will's. By this point, Will knew good and well that he was almost incomprehensible from the outside looking in, and probably enjoyed it a great deal more than he should. "Your running around with me doesn't ruin the psychopath theory. There's always an exception to the rule." He smiled innocently, not really bothered with calling their other two close friends psychopaths. Most girls were, in Cal's experience, and Izzy definitely fit the bill in most people's eyes. "Anyway, are we going to spend all afternoon discussing our relative sanity? I was under the impression we were going to possibly have fun at some point."

"I know!" Will said, pleased. "Isn't it wonderful?" He ignored Cal's comment about being the exception to the rule, since he knew Cal probably thought it was true, and he didn't want to burst his bubble. "I like fun. What's the plan?" Will certainly didn't have a plan, but he knew Cal probably would.

Cal pondered on things for a second, but there really wasn't much going on around the castle that day. "We could study," he said teasingly, with the knowledge that neither of them would ever label that fun no matter the class. "Or we could go spying out at the lake." In the next second, his eyes popped wide and a bright grin crossed his face. "Or we could go for a swim!" That was his favorite option yet. It wouldn't be good weather for it much longer, and there were always plants to be identified in and around the lake.

Will pondered Cal's suggestion, completely ignoring the studying option, of course. He had a potions essay he was ignoring successfully, and he did not want to ruin that. Spying at the lake was really just people-watching, which Cal loved and he found boring. He always ended up checking people out, which made Cal squinge. "Swimming it is," Will said, grinning. "However, I'm not in the mood for a trunks run, so you'd better not be feeling self-conscious today. I'm swimming in my boxers."

Cal shrugged noncommittally, averting his eyes. It wasn't that there was all that much to be embarrassed about on his body. He had lost all his baby fat around twelve or thirteen, leaving him lean all over...which was actually the problem. He looked young and really scrawny next to the rest of the guys his age, who were taller and more capable of putting on muscle. By this point, Cal was pretty sure he'd never even be taller than the girls. "Boxers will be fine. I'm not really worried about it. Let's go."

Will noticed Cal's unease, but he ignored it. He was determined to swim, and although he knew Cal was a bit uncomfortable with being a short stick, Will didn't have a problem with it. Will should have been a bit more sympathetic towards his friend, but Will knew that it was something he couldn't really help Cal with. Cal would have to deal with his body issues on his own.

"Onward!" Will announced loudly, laughing as people rolled their eyes at him. Cal probably wanted to strangle him.

With a roll of his eyes, Cal set off toward the front doors, determined to get as far ahead of Will as he possibly could with his much shorter legs. As much as he enjoyed Will's company, he had a habit (common to many Gryffindors) of drawing far too much attention to himself. All it did was make Cal uncomfortable. Too many eyes on him at once felt a little too much like his father's hard gaze of judgement.

Will laughed as he watched Cal try to speed up and leave him behind. He took pity on Cal and toned things down a little before easily catching up to Cal's short-legged pace. "It's a miracle the two of us are friends, you know," Will muttered jokingly.

"Not a miracle," Cal disagreed, falling in easily. His discomfort was always quick to pass and he never got mad at Will. It wasn't his fault he was naturally...well, almost flamboyant. "I don't believe in those. Besides, I owe you. It makes sense to keep me close." Outside was brighter than expected when he flung the door open, and he blinked hard to try and see out to the edge of the lake. "Hope there's not a ton of girls out there."

Will frowned as Cal talked. Although it WAS true that Cal owed Will, Will didn't like it when Cal brought it up. He still had yet to use the favor that Cal owed him, and he had no idea what he would use it for. In his head, it basically didn't exist, because he would not use it for something that wasn't serious. Although he wasn't by nature a serious person, Cal made him more serious than anyone else he had ever known.

"Speak for yourself, Cal. I personally hope there are a number of girls out there. Preferably with little clothing on."

It was difficult to restrain another eyeroll. "There's nothing under there but skin anyway. I don't see the big deal," Cal muttered. He was pretty sure he wouldn't ever see the big deal. "They ruin everything though. They get peeved if you splash and they think everything is gross. And they giggle for no reason. It's just bad."

Will tried hard not to laugh. "Next thing you know, you'll be insisting they have cooties," he said, a grin breaking out across his face against his will. The pair walked up to the lake, and Will was disappointed to see that there were very few people there. That was good news for Cal, though.

Will casually pulled his shirt over his head. Years of quidditch made the motion familiar, almost second-nature. "Pull 'em down," he said, grinning at Cal as he went to unbutton his pants. He doubted Cal would be very eager to strip down.

"I'm not four years old," Cal insisted with a shake of his head. "It's just silly to make a fuss about them." He was happy to see that the edge of the lake was very sparsely populated today. All the better for his swimming experience. Maybe he'd even find some water plants that he could bring in for house points in Herbology. It was kind of pitiful the way his house was never really in the running for the cup.

Cal allowed himself a moment to look as Will started to undress. He got frustrated every time he had to go through this; it was hard not to sit and stare and wish he could be at least somewhat normal, if not quite built like Will. Quidditch players couldn't be held as the norm or everyone would feel like Cal did. He reluctantly stripped off his pants and glanced down at his shirt warily, switching anxiously from foot to foot as he considered whether to take it off.

"If you say so," Will said, a smirk on his face. He found Cal's view on things highly amusing.

Will watched Cal undress--he always felt weird looking at his friend when he was halfway clothed, because he knew Cal was very insecure about the way he looked. Usually, Will deliberately turned his eyes away, but he couldn't help himself. His friend's body seemed slightly different, and Will suspected that the short, scrawny boy was growing. Cal seemed uncomfortable once his pants came off, though, and he was faced with the question of whether to remove his shirt.

Will was going to be a jerk.

"Take it off," he ordered.

Cal blinked, caught a little by surprise by Will's demand. It wasn't often that Will truly shocked him anymore, after the long conditioning to his behavior, but he hadn't expected this. He knew Will didn't put up with lack of self-confidence in any area, but he didn't expect to be forced to strip.

"Do I....never mind." There was no point asking if he had to. Will would just fuss at him about it or, more likely, tease him endlessly for being a prude or a scaredy-cat. He heaved a weary sigh and pulled his shirt up over his head, quickly sweeping his hair back into order to give himself something to do. "There. Happy?"

Will couldn't help but be amused by Cal's stunned face. It wasn't a face that he got to see often anymore, since Will generally couldn't surprise Cal like he could other people. It was probably why he acted differently around Cal, alternating between two extremes. He was either more thoughtful than he usually was, or he was more absurd. Most people didn't entirely seem to understand his rare flashes of genuine emotion, and although Cal saw them more than anyone else, Will suspected he didn't completely understand where they came from, either. Cal expected blunt, extreme behavior, and the only way to surprise him was to exaggerate that even more.

Cal, surprisingly, did what Will demanded of him, and removed his shirt, though he certainly didn't look happy about it. Will didn't know why he was so self-conscious. It was stupid. However, his mission accomplished and Cal's shirt off (and Will at least taking pity on Cal and avoiding looking at his bare chest), he beamed. "Yup. Now that we're all undressed..." His face was overtaken by a slow, sly grin as he moved to push Cal into the lake.